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Old 11-30-2017, 02:01 PM   #1
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Anyone in SLC been to Val's?

I got back from a trip the other day and had a pretty substantial shake coming home on the interstate. About 65 or over and it made the barn doors and cabinetry rattle rhythmically. I think I might have hit a pretty big pothole exploring some dirt roads earlier in the day and suspect an alignment issue, no problems prior to that.

Some time back when I asked about servicing in the Salt Lake area someone recommended Val's Alignment and Brakes downtown. I checked out their revues and they are all over the place, very good and very bad. Any input from folks here?

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Old 11-30-2017, 02:04 PM   #2
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Some quick things to look at include any mud stuck to the rim of one or more tires creating an imbalance (mud seems to like to hide on the side of the rim facing the van, not the convenient outer side), and you may want to check if there's play in the driveshaft u-joints.


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Old 11-30-2017, 02:15 PM   #3
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That's funny Herb, as we were feeling and hearing it I first mentioned the alignment and then my wife suggested mud on the rims and I recalled a similar problem with an old truck that was the u-joint. I'll try and give it a shake and have a look at the rims too before taking it in to check the alignment. Thanks Herb.
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Old 11-30-2017, 02:25 PM   #4
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I brought my van here recently:

Alignment Specialists of Salt Lake City, Utah

It was the best alignment I have had on my vehicle. I had shaking and driving hard to the right. They do a lot of RVs and trucks.

Only one data point, but I was really happy with the results.
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Old 12-01-2017, 01:50 PM   #5
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Hmmm, just got back from Alignment Specialists and without even looking at the rig the guy said that a wobble or shimmy that cranked up at higher speeds and made barn doors shake would not be a result of an alignment problem.

He suggested that I first go to a tire place and have them rotated and balanced and see if that doesn't help (after that I don't know what). What do you guys think of that?
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Old 12-01-2017, 02:14 PM   #6
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Sounds like sound advice to me, he could have easily just done an alignment and taken your money but instead seemed to want you to check other things first. If you lost a tire weight or your tires were out of balance it seems to make sense to first check the tires (hence the mud on the rims suggestion) and like you said its only at higher speeds, and I agree it doesn't sounds like an alignment issue with the bad shaking. Although less likely, you also could have damaged a rim potentially, or a ujoint as mentioned. Start with the tire rotation/balance


Where was your trip too? Im always looking for new places in or near Utah
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Old 12-01-2017, 02:18 PM   #7
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I agree. He told me he just didn't want me to be disappointed after I spent my money there doing something that didn't help the problem. I respect that and wish there were more like him. Off to a tire place next.
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Old 12-02-2017, 04:01 PM   #8
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So if anyone cares, I took it to Victor's Tires around the corner and they showed me where one of the tires had this slight bulge in it, I think he referred to it as a "bubble". It was outlined in chalk and you could vaguely see where it appeared raised slightly there. The tires are Toyo A/T 285 tires with what I now see is about 18,000 miles on them, 10,000 since I bought it last year. All the rest look fine. I had them rotate, balance and replace the bad one. I wished I'd thought to ask which one was the bad one but I bet it was front right.
Anyway, haven't had a chance to take it on the open road at speed but it feels pretty good so far. Thanks for the input here.
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Old 12-03-2017, 01:25 PM   #9
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One last note, putting a new tire on made all the difference. Took it on the interstate for a bit this morning and cruised up to 75 and it was all around a smoother and quieter ride. Success!
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